


Written in Her Genes

by busylefeitz



Category: Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Kissing, Love Potion/Spell, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Romance, human!caine, security guard!caine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:40:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23970949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/busylefeitz/pseuds/busylefeitz
Summary: Fluff AU: Jupiter is a scientist developing a love potion, and Caine is under her spell.
Relationships: Jupiter Jones/Caine Wise
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	1. THE DEADLINE

Jupiter was stressed. Exhausted. She hadn’t slept well in weeks, ever since her boss moved up the deadline for her product demo. She was never going to make it in time.

And if she didn’t, this time it’d be her head.

If she somehow exaggerated her suspicions about the Abrasax’ shady business practices and she didn’t wind up in the bottom of Lake Michigan, she was certain she would at least be fired.

She needed this job. Her family needed her to keep this job. She shared her earnings with her mom and her aunt Nino every paycheck. Before she had this job, they lived barely above the poverty line. Now at least her mom could take a day off every once in a while.

Jupiter had been working for Abrasax Industries for over three years, primarily on a project related to her graduate thesis work: the science behind attraction. After years of poorly chosen lovers and romances that ended in heartbreak, Jupiter had decided there had to be something in her genes that made her so attracted to men that only hurt her. She dove headfirst into the literature, taking every class on genetics, epigenetics, brain chemistry, and more that she could find. In her third year of her PhD, she stumbled across something interesting: a series of proteins that she hypothesized could alter who our genes tell us to be attracted to.

She graduated a couple years later, publishing her theoretical work in several smaller journals, without much success, until one day she got a very strange email from someone named Kalique Abrasax. She vaguely remembered hearing the name before, connected to a company that did experimental genetics work, but nothing respectable scientists dabbled in.

The email sounded at first like an invitation to interview. And maybe it was, of sorts. But by the time she arrived at Kalique’s office the following Monday, her fate was sealed. They knew exactly what she had discovered in her lab, and were determined to use her knowledge to create a Love Potion of sorts.

She laughed it off, thinking it was some sort of woo-woo, new age nonsense like the astrology Nino kept trying to get her to care about. She was a serious scientist, like her parents.

But she was also curious.

She googled the company, winding her way down a rabbit hole of intrigue and danger—strange claims of human testing gone wrong, mysterious potions that supposedly extended your life, and even possible human cloning!

She slammed her laptop closed and was determined to not think about it again.

The next day she was walking to the corner bodega when a shiny black limousine slid up next to her. The dark-tinted rear window rolled down, revealing a handsome, well-groomed man, probably not much older than herself, in an expensive looking suit.

An hour later, when she was signing a contract to work for the company for five years (having not consulted a lawyer or even really read the document before her) she wondered once again if it was her genes that made her behave so irrationally.

And the rest was history.

Back in present day, Jupiter was exasperated. Nothing was coming out right today and she finally gave in and slammed her papers down, letting out a tiny groan of frustration.

“Excuse me Doctor, are you all right?” a low voice rumbled from behind her.

She spun around to look, having assumed she was alone in the lab. She was always alone in the lab. Frantically scanning the room, her eyes landed on a large man in a black uniform standing near the door.

“Who are you?” Not exactly the most eloquent thing to say, but she was out of fucks for the day.

“Caine Wise, I’m here to help you.” This wasn’t strictly true. Caine had been hired to be private security for the labs, but something made him want to ease her anxiety.

Jupiter cocked an eyebrow and stared him down, scrutinizing him. He found that he liked her eyes on him, and he stood a bit straighter, falling into a practiced posture of the former soldier.

“Ok Caine Wise, let’s see what you’ve got.”

His stance slightly faltered at the challenge, but he’d never backed down from one before. His lip curled up at the edge, but quickly relaxed as he collected himself to respond.

After properly introducing himself and explaining why he was there, Caine offered to bring Jupiter a cup of coffee. Her appreciative eyes looked like they might cry.

He returned several minutes later with an armful of snacks and a to-go cup of coffee. He hadn’t even brought her the terrible break room kind.

She thought he looked like an angel.

To be fair, she also thought he was pretty heavenly before he showed up with food and caffeine. His eyes were piercing, matching the sharp edge of his features. His lips looked full and soft. His sturdy build and solid frame gave her all sorts of ideas…

She was maybe a bit too sleep deprived.

Caine insisted she take a break and eat. She agreed reluctantly, plopping down ungracefully on top of an unoccupied counter, and digging into a cheese croissant.

Caine watched her eat. She looked run ragged. He didn’t know why, but he felt like he needed to make her feel better, needed to take care of her.

This was a very unfamiliar instinct for Caine. He wasn’t exactly the domestic type. He lived alone. He hardly had any friends or even acquaintances. He definitely didn’t have any girlfriends. He shrugged off his strange urge to befriend and protect her, deciding instead to focus on trying to keep his new security job.

At least that’s what he told himself to do.

But then a small bit of yolk dripped down Jupiter’s chin and Caine wondered absently what her skin might taste like.

“You’re staring at me.”

“I’m sorry,” Caine dropped his eyes to the floor.

“No, I’m sorry! Here I am eating right in front of you and you must be starving! Here, take these,” she insisted, holding out a bag of hash browns to him.

“I’m working, I really shouldn’t,” Caine tried, but she would not put her arm down, so he accepted the gift, letting his fingers linger a little too long on her own as he took the bag.

“I’m Jupiter by the way,” she said, just as he took his first bite. “Jupiter Jones.”

“Nice to meet you Dr. Jones,” he said awkwardly, talking around a mouthful of potato.

“Just Jupiter,” she corrected him.

“Nice to meet you Jupiter.” Her name practically tumbled out of his mouth.

She smiled brightly at him. “Nice to meet you too, Caine.” She took a sip of her coffee—somehow it was exactly her order, black with two sugars. “Mmmm” she moaned, inhaling its scent gratefully. “I could get used to this.” Her mind briefly registered how close to flirtatious that sounded, but she was too happy in this moment to care what he thought of her boldness.

Caine chuckled softly. He could too.

“So what are you working on?” Caine asked, after a few minutes of eating in peaceful silence.

“Ughh,” Jupiter groaned.

“You don’t have to tell me—” Caine was ready to apologize, but Jupiter stopped him.

“No, it’s not that. It’s just that it’s going so poorly I don’t even know what to say about it.”

He wasn’t sure if he should ask anything else, so he just waited. His soft eyes felt comforting to Jupiter, who’s only real contact lately had been the Abrasax family, none of whom were particularly good company. A couple of whom were particularly _bad_ company.

She smiled softly at him, not quite making it to her eyes, and sighed. “It’s supposed to be a love potion.”

“A love potion?” he tried, and failed, not to sound surprised.

“Well that’s what they call it, at least.” Jupiter hesitated before deciding she actually really wanted to open up to this kind-faced stranger, even if it was against protocol. “It works with your genetics. It can manipulate the proteins that activate your genes and influence who you are attracted to. Or it’s supposed to at least. It doesn’t work yet.”

Caine considered this.

It seemed bizarre to him that people would want to make something like this, want to manufacture love. But then again, rich people (and the Abrasax family was the _definition_ of rich people) think they can buy anything, why not love?

But he also didn’t think it right to judge Jupiter for her assignment.

Jupiter walked Caine through her thinking and process so far. He followed her around the lab, listening intently. It was clear she was exhausted, overworked, and stressed, but there was still such a vibrancy and spark in her. Her eyes lit up when she talked about some of her breakthroughs, the brilliant shine illuminating her whole face. Her hands swung wildly as she gestured, Caine trying both to stay out of the way and secretly hoping one would accidentally land on him.

She explained how it was contact-activated, how it didn’t exactly make you fall in love but rather refocused your attractions toward the first person who touched you after ingestion.

He tried to ask thoughtful questions when he could, but he wasn’t a very big conversationalist. He was happy to just listen to her.

For a scientist—and clearly a brilliant one, given her work and the company she worked for—Jupiter was surprisingly down to earth. She didn’t condescend, and she hardly used words that were outside of his vocabulary. She was just so real, so natural.

And, he realized in some distant part of his mind, he felt natural around her too. He never felt natural.

After a half hour or so, Caine bid Jupiter goodbye, having to return to his security rounds.

The rest of the day went by in a haze. Jupiter’s mind wandered back to the gorgeous security guard with the cute bum every few minutes, and that was definitely not conducive to productivity.

By that night, Jupiter had convinced herself that she had overthought the entire thing with Caine. He just brought her a cup of coffee, it wasn’t like he saved her life or anything. Why was she so obsessed with him?

By the next morning, she’d transformed the entire experience into further proof that her genes were defective. Clearly she was once again attracted to someone who was not the least bit interested in her beyond a professional capacity.

The thought helped. That day she doubled down on her work and started to find several inconsistencies in her formulas that might explain some of her previous failed tests.

By mid afternoon, she was well on her way to rewriting the flawed sections, making great progress.

That is, until, a certain tall blonde and muscley decided to walk through her lab.

“Afternoon, Dr. Jones. I thought you could use a cup of coffee.”

She couldn’t help the sigh that escaped her, and she braced herself to be polite and cordial and nothing more. Her ability to refuse him drained away the second she turned to see Caine, sporting a goofy grin, two giant coffees, and a bag of takeout sandwiches.

“And this,” she tugged the deli bag from his full hands, “Is this coffee too?” she teased.

“Nope.” He grinned smugly. “Didn’t you say you were a scientist? I thought you would recognize a sandwich when you saw one.”

Jupiter bopped him lightly on the arm and wrinkled up her nose.

“Ha. Ha. Ok jackass, if you’re so smart, why don’t you stay here and finish these formulas for me and I’ll go on the coffee runs.” She elbowed him good-naturedly.

“You wouldn’t even know where to get the best coffee.” He leaned back on the counter next to her, their arms barely touching.

They ate in companionable silence until Caine once again returned to his rounds.

With only a couple hours left in the workday, Jupiter was pretty sure she wouldn’t get anything else done. Thoughts of Caine swam in her mind, the feel of him so close, the playful banter, the way he already has taken better care of her than she takes care of herself.

Desperate and only days away from her next demo deadline, she channeled all the attraction and distraction from Caine back into her work, focusing as hard as she could on churning out this new formula so she could begin producing the next sample batch.

She ended up staying well into the evening, but by the time she left her lab, the formula was nearly complete.

“You’re here late,” a familiar baritone called from the end of the dark hallway outside her lab. Jupiter couldn’t help the small smile even his voice could bring to her lips.

But then her mind caught up to her, and the guilt surged to the surface.

“Oh Caine, you stayed late for me, didn’t you?” She remembered him telling her something about all the new security measures Balem, the eldest and most paranoid of the Abrasax siblings, recently instituted. “I’m so sorry, that was insensitive of me!” She rushed to him, stopping only a foot away.

“No, not at all. It’s my job,” he stated matter-of-factly. And something in Jupiter deflated, just a little.

“Oh. Right. Of course… Well I’m heading out now, so you can lock up.”

“Let me walk you to your car?” Caine offered, extending a hand to Jupiter like some sort of Regency gentleman about to take her on the promenade. She might have swooned a little.

“Oh no, you don’t have to do that!”

“I insist.”

Jupiter looped her arm through his and walked with him out to the parking lot. She was frankly grateful for the companionship; walking alone at night as a woman has never been exactly the most relaxing thing in the world, but she was also just happy to spend a bit more time with him.

By the time they got to her car, Jupiter had forgotten entirely her pact to stop fantasizing about Caine. She held onto his arm tighter than strictly necessary, and when he made to let her go (since she obviously would need both hands to get in her car and drive said car home), she clung for just a second longer than she meant to before releasing him.

She turned to open her car door, and when she turned back to say goodbye, he was much closer than she remembered.

“Goodnight Jupiter,” he breathed more than spoke.

“Goodnight Caine.” She stared into his eyes for what felt like forever and not long enough.

His tongue darted out to swipe his bottom lip and her eyes traced the movement. He inhaled deeply, rocked on his heels and stepped back.

Halfway home, she had a breakthrough. Somehow, though all she saw in her mind’s eye was a dreamy blonde hunk, the formulas she’d back-burnered had clicked into place. Caine had this effect on her—as much as he distracted her, he also calmed her down enough that she could think. With her anxiety entirely occupied wondering if she was misreading his whole vibe, her left brain was able to percolate and tease out the problem unencumbered.

She fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow, a satisfied smile ghosting her face.

Caine, on the other hand, couldn’t sleep. He was flat on his back on his bed in his simple apartment. He’d almost crossed a line that night with Jupiter. He was supposed to be protecting her, nothing more. Not even her, really—just her lab and its contents. He could get fired for doing something like that again, and then he’d never see her.

Eventually, Caine dozed into a shallow, restless sleep.


	2. HEATING UP

Caine struggled to get up the next morning. Usually extremely early to his post, this morning Caine arrived a full three minutes late.

He was in the middle of being reprimanded by the whiny youngest Abrasax (the man who’d hired Caine in the first place), when he heard shouting from down the hall. Dr. Jones’ office.

He ignored Titus’ crude outburst and took off down the hall towards Jupiter.

“But I’m making great progress—“

“Your _progress_ , Miss Jones, is none of my concern. This lab exists with the sole purpose to create profit for Abrasax Industries. Without any _product_ , how can we have profit?” He waved his hand to dismiss her, despite being in her lab, and turned to remove himself.

Jupiter could not believe it. Just this morning she had another breakthrough in the lab, and here Balem was threatening to have her fired if she couldn’t produce a viable sample by the end of the day? She would never make that deadline. In a panic, she reached out to stop him from leaving, maybe beg him for an extra day.

“Do NOT touch me!” Balem shrieked, yanking his arm back.

“I’m sorry, I—“ she extended her arms again, not to touch him, just in a gesture, but he reacted all the same, jumping back from her as if she’d burned him.

“OUT, I want you OUT!”

“But you said—“

Just then Caine burst in through the lab doors, huffing and wild-eyed.

“Jupiter?” he gasped, arriving squarely between her and Balem.

“Perfect, Mr. Wise, REMOVE this woman!” Balem ordered.

“What’s going on?” Caine’s eyes darted between Balem and a confused and worried looking Jupiter.

Before anyone could answer, two more intruders stormed into the lab. Furious that Caine had left in the middle of a perfectly delightful scolding, Titus had followed Caine. Curious about the sudden hullabaloo outside her office, Kalique soon followed.

And now they were all standing in Jupiter’s lab.

“Thisss- _girl_ —“ Balem snarled, and Jupiter would have sworn she heard Caine growl under his breath, moving her behind him.

Kalique interrupted with a gentle sigh. “Balem, why don’t we let Dr. Jones finish her work. She’s really doing quite remarkable things in her research.”

Balem’s lip twitched in profound anguish, an emotion so blatantly out of place in the given circumstances. But, he simply turned sharply on his heel and moved to the exit. “See that you have the sample ready by end of day, Miss Jones.” His throaty voice hanging in the silent room.

“Please, continue your work, Dr. We won’t interrupt again,” Kalique’s voice was saccharine, and her face not so subtly suggested Titus follow her lead and remove himself from the lab as well.

Disappointed that he didn’t get to see or participate in any drama, Titus scoffed and headed back to his office to continue his very important business of swiping dating apps.

Only Caine remained with Jupiter.

She was shaken, slightly off balance, when he turned to face her.

“Jupiter?” he softly inquired.

“You should go too, Caine.”

“What the hell happened back there? Are you ok?” He could read the tightness around her eyes, the strained muscles in her neck, the way her arms wrapped around and held herself.

“I don’t want to talk about it. I really just want to get back to work.”

After a breath’s hesitation, Caine nodded and turned to leave.

Against his better judgement, Caine returned to Jupiter’s lab that evening with coffee. If she was going to stay late every night, he would do whatever he could to make it easier. He watched from the doorway for a few moments, his lip curling up a bit at the corner. Even though she was moving frantically about the lab, to Caine it seemed like a dance. It reminded him of some of the fighting techniques he’d learned in the Marines, rapid fire motions that left opponents dizzy and disarmed.

Caine cleared his throat and Jupiter’s head whipped around to see him. Her eyes were frantic, but her face still lit up in unconscious smile at the sight of him, for just a moment letting herself forget that she was in the middle of mixing compounds, the results of which could determine her entire future.

He started to walk towards her, and was only a few feet away when he heard a strange _pop-popping_ sound.

At first there was nothing but light. Then the blinding flash gave way for a cracking thunder, before the entire lab was consumed in smoke.

“JUPITER!” Caine’s instincts kicked in immediately and the second he could, he picked himself up from the edge of the room where the blast threw him. On his feet and on the move Caine covered his mouth in his shirt and ducked under the smoke. Right into the fire. “JUPITER!”

Like the most beautiful and terrifying sound he’d ever heard, a small moan rang out from under a table a few feet away.

He dove to his knees and slid under the table, scooping Jupiter up in his arms.

“Caine?” her eyes struggled to focus.

“Jupiter, it’s ok, just breathe,” he soothed, making his way out of the lab and towards the outside doors. She melted into his arms, consciousness fading.

Crashing out of the main entrance, Caine was grateful to see that the Abrasax family had gone home for the evening and most of the building had been empty. He deemed the area safe, and went to sit Jupiter down on a bench so he could assess the situation and call for help, but her arms clung to him, her nails digging into his neck.

He sighed, and decided he’d rather keep her close anyway, squeezing her a little closer to his chest.

His comm vibrated on his hip, and he held it up to his ear with one hand, careful not to jostle Jupiter. In a matter of moments, he relayed what he knew to his superior, who informed him that EMTs would be arriving shortly and that the firetrucks had already pulled into the side access. Caine wondered why he hadn’t heard them, and noted that his hearing had some possible damage.

His first thought was of Jupiter. If he might have had injuries, she must be much worse. The woman cradled in his arms suddenly seemed so much softer, more vulnerable. Not the vibrant light and spunk she normally carried. He wanted nothing more than to heal her, if only he could take her pain.

“Jupiter? Jupiter, can you hear me?” Caine whispered gently, leaning in close to her face.

Somewhere in the fog, Jupiter heard Caine’s voice and rallied her way back from her nice nap. She blinked a few times, trying to see, and when her eyes regained focus, they saw only Caine.

“Caine,” she sighed, her breath mixing with his own in the small space that separated them. And with all the strength she could muster, she stretched across that tiny remaining space to brush her lips against Caine’s. “In case I don’t get the chance again.”

The next thing Jupiter remembered was pain. Specifically, everywhere and everything and probably everywhen too. “Unghh,” Jupiter groaned, trying to pull herself up. Before her eyes even adjusted to the dark room, there was an arm around her waist, supporting her.

“Jupiter,” Caine’s voice came from beside her.

“Caine,” she couldn’t help the relief in her voice. “Where am I?” Jupiter croaked out, her voice slightly hoarse. She remembered the explosion, mostly. She remembered pieces of the next few minutes, being carried, the scent of leather in her nose, a light shining into her eyes, but the rest was a blur.

“I brought you home. To my home.” Jupiter tensed almost imperceptibly. “You refused to go to the hospital,” Caine continued, words rushing out now. “You barely let the EMTs examine you, and then you asked me to stay with you but I didn’t know where you lived so I brought you here. I can take you home, I just wanted you to be safe. They said you don’t have a concussion, but—“

His endless rambling was cut short when Jupiter’s hand reached out to touch his face.

“You’re hurt,” Jupiter slid her fingertips along a shallow gash on his brow.

“Jupiter,” Caine exhaled, half a laugh half a sigh. “I’m fine.”

He brought his hand up to stop her inspection, his eyes locked on hers.

Her own eyes drifted lazily across his features until settling on his lips. _Did she kiss him?_ The thought tickled into her brain and wound through the foggy flashes searching for the vague memory she had of those lips. Those full, strong lips… When her mind turned up nothing concrete, she decided it must have been a shock-induced dream.

A very good dream.

She let her eyes drift close to try to recapture the dream. As the blurry picture formed in her mind’s eye, she was shocked by how real it felt. She could actually feel his lips pressing softly on hers.

She could actually feel his lips pressing on hers.

Wait.

Her eyes flew open, confirming that Caine was, in fact, kissing her. At her hesitation, he instantly pulled back, eyes wide.

She didn’t let him say whatever it was he was going to say.

She pulled him back to her, fingers woven in the hairs at the base of his neck, gripping him to her as she kissed him back with all the fervor her injured body could produce. She kissed him, hard, until a pained groan eked out of her against her will. He pulled back, despite the force of her grip and looked at her with concern and fondness.

“Jupiter, you’re hurt.”

“Don’t care,” she leaned back towards him, groaning three or four times as she slowly, awkwardly repositioned herself onto his lap.

He chuckled lightly and tried to help her, arms cradling her and pressing their bodies closer together. Mostly situated, Jupiter once again leaned in to capture Caine’s lips in an accidentally-rougher-than-intended (and somehow even hotter) kiss.

For a moment or two Caine let himself get pulled into this kiss. Every muscle in his body yearned for Jupiter. His fingers flexed and unflexed on her hips, as he debated internally whether to just let himself have this beautiful thing being offered to him.

Then a small moan vibrated from Jupiter’s lips and Caine swallowed it hungrily, kneading his hands on her sides, desperate for purchase. He squeezed just the wrong spot and her moan turned sour, and he pulled back abruptly, holding her back when she tried to restart their kiss.

“Please?” Jupiter was surprised by the whine in her tone, but her insides swirled with pain and excitement and she didn’t want to stop now.

“Jupiter,” Caine leaned his forehead against hers and sucked in a deep breath. He shook his head softly. “You have no idea how badly I want this. But you’re injured and you need to rest.” At that he gently lifted her off his lap as if she were weightless, settling her back down carefully on his bed, and pulling the blanket up to cover her. Before he could turn to leave—he’d already planned to sleep on the couch, despite it being a good two feet too short for him—she reached out and grasped his hand.

“Stay with me?” He turned to look at her. “I won’t make any more moves on you, promise,” her cracked voice teasing and playful. “Will you stay?”

“Of course,” Caine didn’t even hesitate. He moved around to the other side of the bed, turning his back to her before slipping out of his pants and shirt, leaving him only in his boxer briefs. He slid cautiously under the covers, careful not to disturb the injured woman, leaving a foot of bed between them.

Before she closed her eyes, Jupiter scooted back into the warm, firm body behind her, arching and molding into him until she felt truly encased in him. He stayed perfectly still for a few minutes, but as her consciousness was again waning, she felt a large, strong hand curve up her hip and around her belly, holding her to him.

Happy, despite her injuries, Jupiter drifted easily off to sleep.

The next thing Jupiter knew was the smell of something delicious wafting through the air. Was Nino making latkes?

She yawned and stretched, and the sharp aches in her body brought back the memories of the day before. She groaned, half at the memory of the explosion— _her work was destroyed!—_ and half at the pain.

Caine must have heard her from the kitchen, because his head popped around the corner.

“Jupiter, you’re awake,” his soft eyes captured her, and she forgot to be self-conscious about the fact that she basically crashed at a stranger’s house last night. And in his bed no less. She’d chalk it up to adrenaline, but she didn’t feel that same panic this morning and yet she still wanted to wrap her thighs around him and continue their steamy kiss from the night before.

She must have been eying him hungrily, because he interrupted her sleepy fantasy, saying, “Don’t worry, the pancakes will be done soon. And I put some pain killers on the nightstand for you.” He ducked back around the corner and Jupiter exhaled. She had to get herself under control. “Oh, and I laid out some clothes for you,” Caine’s head reappeared around the corner. “In case you want to change.”

By the time she had taken the pills he left out and sneaked into his bathroom to examine herself, she started to remember. Small fragments, like flashes from a movie, passed behind her eyelids as she brushed her teeth with her finger.

Her brain settled on one memory in particular. They’d told her she’d gotten some of the sample formula she was working on on her skin, in her eyes, maybe even in her mouth. She remembered the scalding water of the emergency decontamination shower they’d set up in the parking lot. Had she asked Caine to wait outside? Or had she clung to him as she did the rest of the time? Her skin flushed with equal parts embarrassment and lust.

She was grateful they had given her the scrubs to wear after her own clothes had been so covered in debris and formula and even a little blood, but she looked down at the pile of clothes Caine offered her anyway. She put on his shirt, a soft t-shirt that drowned her in fabric, but somehow felt just right. She tried to put on the comfy pants he’d given her, but they wouldn’t stay on her hips, so she settled for the boxer shorts rolled up so they would stay on. Though, she noticed belatedly, with them on under the long shirt it looked as if she could have been pantsless anyway.

She meandered out of the bathroom towards the delectable smell and discovered the most sweetly domestic sight. Caine, in the kitchen, holding a spatula, surrounded by dishes, and with a delightful smudge of flour on his cheek. She tried to sneak up behind him, but he whirled around on her before she got even close.

“Breakfast is almost ready. Why don’t you sit at the table?” Caine offered, pointing to a small kitchenette set with one seat. She eyed the seat and then eyed him. “I’m sorry, I know my apartment is probably smaller than you are used to, I don’t usually have guests over,” he sighed sheepishly, trying to ignore the strange tightness he felt in his gut seeing her sleepy-eyed and wearing his shirt. He could feel the heat rising in his cheeks, so he whipped back to the griddle to finish up the pancakes.

“But where will you sit?” Jupiter inquired, before letting her aching bones seep into the only chair.

“Don’t worry about me,” Caine said, plating the pancakes and bringing the whole heaping pile to the table.

“You keep saying that,” Jupiter looked up into his eyes warily. “If you get to worry about me, I get to worry about you.”

“Fine,” Caine laughed softly, though something about her words made him ache. He placed the syrup, a bowl of cut strawberries, and a small dish of butter on the table and disappeared into the bedroom. He emerged moments later with a trunk that he sat opposite Jupiter. She smiled at him encouragingly, so he dropped into his makeshift seat across the small table, and started to collect himself a plate of pancakes.

“Caine, this is delicious!” Jupiter moaned around a mouthful of pancake. His ears pinked at the compliment.

They sat in relaxed silence for several minutes, both devouring their food. Jupiter couldn’t help but steal glances at her host every once in a while, and was deeply encouraged every time she looked up and realized he was already looking at her.

They finished breakfast, and Caine refilled Jupiter’s coffee before grabbing one of his own.

“They want me to come in,” Jupiter finally said. She’d gotten the message when she was in the bathroom, but had, until this moment, decided to ignore it. “They want me to come to their office downtown to report on the incident,” she continued, the fear rising underneath her voice.

“I can take you there later, if you want.” Caine wasn’t exactly sure what to say, but his instinct told him to not let her out of his sight.

“He’s going to kill me.”

“What? Who?” Caine’s fighting instinct sped into overdrive. “Balem? Did he threaten you?”

“No, no Caine,” Jupiter was quick to reassure, a small hand reaching out to rest on his tense arm. “Well, I mean he always kind of threatens me, but, I just mean he’ll fire me. Or at least I hope that’s all he does. Fuck I’m really screwed,” she groaned, pulling her hand back to cradle her face in her palms. She hated this job. She hated these people. But she needed that money.

“Is that what happened yesterday?” Caine wouldn’t let it go, “Did he say something to you?” He flexed his fingers, knuckles going white from the strain.

Jupiter refused to look up.

“If he’s threatening you, you can’t go to his office. He’s dangerous, Jupiter.”

Jupiter took a deep breath, held it for a moment, before letting it out in a huff. “I know, but I have to.”

“Then I’ll go with you.” She finally looked up, catching his gaze. His eyes were alight with fire, his face stern and brow knit. He looked like he was wound so tight he might explode like her lab.

It made no sense for her to make him come, but his face said he’d brook no arguments, and she honestly was grateful.

After breakfast they both cleaned up, and Jupiter finagled a dress shirt of Caine’s into something resembling a dress, double wrapping one of his belts around her waist so that she could at least look somewhat presentable if she were getting fired. She considered briefly returning home, but knew the inquisition that awaited her and wasn’t ready to deal with it yet.

She emerged from the bathroom to see Caine dressed not in his usual tactical-looking uniform, but in black dress pants and a black button-up. He was stunning.

She didn’t even notice that he had a similar reaction to seeing her walk out in another of his shirts, this time knowing she would be going in public like that. He flinched at his sudden possessiveness and shook it off.


	3. 24 HOURS

An hour or so after breakfast, Jupiter and Caine found themselves sitting in a very gaudy waiting room on the top floor of the Willis Tower, where the Abrasax Industries had their main offices.

Jupiter stared out the floor to ceiling glass windows behind the receptionist’s desk, wishing she could simply fly away, forget this whole thing. But the steady breathing beside her kept her from leaping out of her seat and running to an exit.

What felt like hours (but was probably only twenty minutes or so) later, an older gentleman with white bushy sideburns came to escort the two into another room. Inside the office—a palatial room with marble accents, chrome details, and an ethereal atmosphere—Kalique sat perched in a velvety chair behind a desk.

“Jupiter, please come in,” her voice light and airy, as if they weren’t here to discuss a possibly career-ending disaster. Her chin jutted up when she noticed the hulking figure shadowing her employee. “And who is this?” she started, but before either could answer, “Oh this must be the new security liaison Titus hired,” she finished for herself, looking Caine up and down, her eyes scanning him like she might consume him. Jupiter held herself back from lashing out at the woman, an instinct she couldn’t quite place.

Kalique noticed the tiny movement, a smirk curling at her lip. Ever the politician, however, Kalique’s features remained impartial and soft as she invited the two to sit on a luxurious settee opposite her.

She noted how close the two sat together, their bodies nearly touching.

“And you, Mr. Wise, have you come to give your report as well?” She knew he hadn’t, he hadn’t even been asked in yet. The head of their security would be debriefing the team later on, and that was truly beyond her care, but she was deeply curious how he might defend his choice to be here.

“Yes, ma’am,” Caine replied with feigned deference. He didn’t trust this woman. “I came to corroborate Jup—Dr. Jones’ accounts of the incident, as I was the only eye witness.”

Jupiter couldn’t help the small twitch of her fingers, her body desperate to grasp his hand only inches away on the settee. She managed to stifle the impulse, but not before Kalique noticed.

“Oh you were, were you? You were in the room when the formula exploded?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And this formula,” Kalique turned her gaze back to Jupiter, “was this the new sample my brother requested?”

“It would have been,” Jupiter sighed.

“Would have been?”  
“We didn’t get to test it before the lab exploded,” Jupiter admitted with trepidation.

“No?” Kalique smiled wickedly. She clasped her hands on the desk and leaned in. “Did you not consume the potion yourself?”

Caine sucked in air, and Jupiter’s eyes bounced between the stiff body beside her and the sickly sweet face before her.

“I—“ Caine is frozen in place, but Kalique just nods, as if to say _go on_. “Well, yes, they said I might have, but—“

“Well there you go.”

“But it didn’t work obviously, or else I—“ she turned to look at Caine, whose features were tense and stone-like. He dropped his gaze to his lap. And then it clicked.

“I see,” Kalique glanced knowingly between them. “And how long are these effects supposed to last?” At Jupiter’s perked brows, she continued. “If this is our only chance to study this batch, we might as well get some real information out of the test.”

“24 hours.” She felt, more than heard, the exhale beside her.

“Fantastic. Well I’m sure Balem can wait to- _debrief-_ you until we know if the serum actually works properly.” Kalique stood, gesturing politely to the door. “I’ll see you in 24 hours, Dr. Jones. And you too, Mr. Wise.”

Caine and Jupiter maintained at least three feet of distance between them the entire walk out of Kalique’s office and through the gilded lobby and into the mirrored elevator and out of Willis tower and all the way to Caine’s car.

When Caine moved to open Jupiter’s door for her to get in, she put her hand over his on the doorknob. “The formula didn’t work, Caine,” she spoke into the air, trying, but failing, to catch his downcast eyes.

“Of course, Dr. Jones.”

“Caine, don’t do that. I’m still the same me. The potion didn’t change me, or how I feel about you,” she reached her hand up to lay it on his chest, but he moved back, opening her door and gesturing to get in.

They drove in silence to Caine’s apartment. Neither had mentioned what their plan was next, but both assumed, for different reasons, it was to go to Caine’s. They were halfway back to his apartment when Caine finally spoke up. “How can you be so sure?”

She didn’t have to ask what he meant. But she thought about his question anyway. The truth is, she wasn’t sure. She had been attracted to him before the accident, but would she have thrown herself at him the way she did the night before? Would she have practically begged him to cuddle her to sleep? Would she have felt such gut-wrenching distress at his use of her formal title? She knew what she felt now, but her head was swimming with painkillers and her body ached and she honestly couldn’t parse the feelings she was experiencing now from what was there before the accident. She didn’t know, and she couldn’t bring herself to lie to him. So she didn’t answer.

And that was answer enough for Caine.

Back at Caine’s apartment, Caine moved silently through the small space; he refused to let her do this herself. It made for an odd sight, Jupiter observed, standing awkwardly in the doorway. For someone so bulky and stiff, he moved with grace and agility.

When he was finished collecting the seemingly endless bits and bobs she’d strewn about, he met her again at the door.

“Let me take you home,” he offered softly.

Disappointment briefly crossed her features, before a strong resolve. “No Caine, can you just take me back to my car?” She’d abandoned it at the lab after the incident. Caine had driven her home in his black junker, not that she really remembered that part.

He nodded brusquely and led her back out to his car.

Caine pulled up in the spot next to Jupiter’s car. He hadn’t needed her to point it out, even in the dark he remembered what it looked like. That night, the night he almost crossed the line with her…had she wanted to kiss him too? Or was it just because of the formula that this incredible creature—way out of his league and then some—was suddenly interested in him? Who was he to her? No one but an employee, an underling, the coffee boy.

He stepped out of the car and opened her door before she had the chance, assisting her in standing up. She hissed a little at the motion and his hand instinctively gripped her own, offering support in more ways than one.

She stepped up into his space and captured his gaze for a moment before dropping his hand and stepping around him to the driver’s side door of her own car. She fumbled with her keys. She hesitated. “I really don’t want to go home.”

Caine looked up, meeting her face on without looking away for the first time since Kalique’s office. “Where do you want to go?”

She took a chance. “What if I’m still injured?”

“You want to go to the hospital?”  
“No, I just think it would be good..if someone were to..look after me for a while,” her voice cautious but dripping with intent.

“I can look after you,” it was a trap and he recognized it as such and yet he couldn’t bring himself to do anything but offer himself up to her, however she needed him.

“Thank you, Caine,” the relief in her voice evident. “I’d really like that.” His head turned down in a nod, but she swore there was a hint of a smile on his lips. And then the memory of kissing him last night flooded her mind. “Caine,” she eased into his space, “Tell me you don’t feel this.”

His breath hitched. He definitely felt it.

He tried to steady himself before responding, “It’s not that I don’t feel it, it’s just that I can’t tell if you do.” He tried to be firm, but his voice stumbled a bit at the end. Her face was inches from his again, leaned against her car just as they had been a few nights ago. She distinctly remembered the way she hoped he’d lean in a bit further, pin her body against the car and kiss her. She remembered brushing the thought off as ridiculous and inappropriate because he clearly was just helping her as a colleague. And yet here in this exact spot not 3 days later and he is telling her that he wanted her too?

It’s more than she can stand, and her voice comes out strained and a little desperate. “What can I do to prove to you that this isn’t some stupid potion?”

Jupiter’s fire enticed Caine to no end. Her aggressive attempts to convince him of her interest would have been met with equal fervor, had their circumstances been different. But as things stood now, he couldn’t help but see her desperation as further proof that she’d been affected by the formula. No one ever wanted him like this. Especially not someone like her.

But a piece of him still selfishly wanted her to stay like this, wanted her to be right. “It wears off in 24 hours, right? 20:45?”

“Right…?”

“Then you should absolutely be _looked after_ until then.”


	4. DOMESTIC BLISS

Less than an hour since they were there last, Caine and Jupiter arrived back at Caine’s apartment.

This time he let her come in, setting the bag of her things he collected earlier back on the coffee table near a faded blue couch. It reminded Jupiter a lot of her own house, her own furniture. That kind of carpety fabric your grandparents bought in the 80s and somehow no one ever got rid of? The one with the worn patterns of big flowers and tiny stripes. She snuggled into the couch, wrapping her arms around her knees and pulling them gingerly up to her chest.

She glanced up at a digital clock above the stove, 11:15am. Less than 10 hours until the potion would be out of her system, if it was ever there to begin with.

Unbeknownst to Jupiter, Caine had just set a timer on the stove for the end of her 24 hours.

“Coffee?” He called loudly from the kitchen, though it was only a few feet away in the small space.

“Please,” Jupiter returned.

He came around the couch moments later with two mugs, extending one out to her. He looked down at the loveseat with consideration.

“Sit with me?” Jupiter encouraged.

It’s like she could read his mind. He sat gratefully down next to her, careful not to encroach too much on her side, though he was a little too big for the old couch even when he was alone.

Jupiter sipped her coffee and turned over the situation in her head. It was obvious that Caine didn’t believe her feelings for him, and to be frank, it was making her doubt them herself. Only the memories of their coffee breaks and that night by her car helped her sustain the belief that what she was feeling was not the work of her formula.

It was clear she was going to have to do a little bit of work here to get past his guard. If she could get him to open up to her, if she could do the same, maybe he’d see it wasn’t some surface attraction. Though, admittedly, she was definitely attracted to him.

So she started asking him questions. Quizzing him, really. She considered herself one of the least nosy Bolotnikov, but she’d still picked up a thing or two from their antics.

She asked him about how he got the job. Titus. How he came into this line of work. Military. How he got into the military. Orphan. Though she couldn’t get a ton of details from him, he always answered her honestly. The more she learned about his past, the more she felt for him. He had been through incredible hardships and still came out such a sweet, genuine man. He was jaded, that was obvious, but it hadn’t made him cruel.

Caine realized rather slowly that he was being interrogated. He stifled his discomfort and tried instead to be honest with her. If Jupiter knew what a mess his life was, she would definitely not want any part of it after the potion wore off. It would make it that much easier for her to see how different they really were.

He wasn’t all that surprised that she had wormed these answers out of him. He wasn’t really even shocked by how easy it felt sharing parts of himself he never shared with anyone else.

Feeling the lump rise in his throat as he described the incident that got him kicked out of the marines, however, that was unexpected. Seeing Jupiter’s eyes tear up and feeling her hand on his knee in comfort was…unbelievable.

Swallowing down both his pride and his self-loathing, Caine decided he needed to turn this conversation around, deflect.

He tried to start somewhere simple, innocuous, with her family. Turns out, for Russians, nothing is less simple than family. She was so animated when she described the big household where she grew up, the bustling extended family that lived and worked together. She gushed about her aunt’s cooking, bemoaned her mom’s ability to read any lie, and complained endlessly about someone named Vladie (who Caine would really like to destroy for whatever it is he did that upset Jupiter).

He enjoyed every second of listening to her talk, just as he had in the lab when she described her work.

After a while her stomach growled, interrupting a rather emotional bit of story about a telescope.

“Lunch?” Caine offered, eyebrows up in question.

“That would be amazing,” Jupiter smiled.

He wouldn’t let her help him cook, but she joined him in the kitchen, sitting on the trunk this time instead of his only chair, watching him move, watching his muscles tense and flex and ripple. He’d taken off his dress clothes when they got back, exchanging them for grey sweatpants and a tight black t shirt. She had opted only to remove the belt wrapped around her waist, letting his button up drape loosely on her body. She thought he looked tasty. He thought she looked like home.

They ate lunch (chicken and rice) together at his little table, occasionally exchanging small glances.

After lunch she tried to take his plate to the sink to clean up, but somehow he succeeded in collecting every dish and blocking her from even entering the space. She opted instead to snoop his apartment, knowing full well he could see her, and using it to her advantage.

“What about this?” she picked up yet another strange-looking object she’d discovered. They’d been playing this game for a while, and Jupiter was finding it very educational.

He glanced over. “A cleaning tool,” and at her insistent face, “It’s for canteens.” She nodded and continued. It wasn’t a very big space, but she’d managed to find several objects she didn’t

recognize.

“And this?” she held up a rock.

“A rock.”

She rolled her eyes at him, and he smiled playfully.

“It’s river quartz, from near where I was stationed.”

She nodded, setting it back down with a little more reverence.

“And this?”

“A scope, for a gun.”

“You have guns?”

“Yes.”

“In this apartment.” A statement, rather than a question.

“I’m sorry, would you rather I not?” He was suddenly worried. She knew what he did, what he does. He knew there was no way someone like her would want to get involved with someone whose life was so…messy.

“No no, it’s not that,” she reassured him quickly. “It’s just that I’ve been all over this place and haven’t seen any.”

“I keep them very secure.”

“That’s good.”

Silence.

“WHAT ARE THEEEEESE?” Jupiter shrieked, holding up a pair of black and blue inline skates.

Caine turned to look at what had shocked Jupiter so much. Her eyes were sparkling and mouth agape.

“Caine Wise, have you been hiding this from me? Are you…a skater boy?” she teased ruthlessly.

“Those,” Caine defended, coming into the living room, “are for hockey.”

Jupiter was still smiling mischievously, but she put the skates back up on their shelf.

“Would you teach me someday?” she turned abruptly to face him again. “To skate, I mean.”

“You want to learn how to skate?”

“I would if you taught me,” she volleyed back, stepping closer to him.

He wanted so deeply to say yes to her, to make a date, a plan, to know that he would see her again.

“Ask me tomorrow.”

Caine’s insides twisted at the disappointment on her face, but it quickly vanished and made way for stubborn resolve.

“I will.”

That afternoon he convinced her to let him redress her wounds, with the concession that she got to dress his small cut first. Caine refused her compromise at first, but in the end he gave in, his chest constricting slightly at her touch.

The EMTs said she really only had surface cuts (a large gash on her forearm was particularly worrisome though) and some bruising, but no serious damage. Sitting up on the counter of his bathroom sink, she was actually happy she’d agreed for him to play nurse. He’d practically had to beg her, not that she didn’t want him to touch her but because she wanted him to believe that she was fine.

He washed and dried each of her wounds with careful reverence. His large, rough hand cradled her arm while he spread the ointment and replaced the bandage with a new one.

Ignoring the tiny twinge of pain, Jupiter wished Caine would touch her like this forever. She melted into his hands, eyes drifting closed.

When he was done with her arm, he wedged himself between her knees, careful to not lean too much into her body, in order to inspect the cuts on her face. She had significant bruising on her jaw and tiny cuts above her brow and on her cheek. He tended each delicately, precisely, and thoroughly. Jupiter spent the whole time trying not to squeeze her thighs together, trying not to pull him in. Trying, quite frankly, not to kiss him.

When they were finished, she begged him to play a game with her, and they settled on cards. She’d found a deck in her snooping earlier; he’d said he had played a lot of cards in his bunk in the military, but rarely with anyone else. She tugged him by the arm over to the table and sat him down to show him all the rules of durak, a game she played with her family all the time.

Their game was a hysterical disaster. Apparently Caine was very interested in rules and order and Jupiter was much more interested in making Caine lose his cool. They laughed so much that Jupiter’s cheeks hurt.

By the end of the game, Jupiter was yawning. “Tired?”

“Mmm, I think it’s nap time,” Jupiter yawned again, the last dose of painkillers finally kicking in but this time without any coffee in her system to overpower the urge to doze.

While Caine cleaned up their messy card game, Jupiter changed back into his comfy t shirt, not bothering to put the shorts back on, and settled herself back on his bed. She watched him through the door, popping in and out of her vision as he moved through the house. She was sad to be sleeping through part of their time together, but it couldn’t be helped. The pills were dragging her down and she couldn’t stop them. But maybe this was ok, her hazy mind offered. Because the sooner night comes around, the sooner the 24 hours are up. Before her eyes shuddered closed, she glimpsed the clock through the open door. 3:55pm. She could count the hours on her fingers, if she could lift them.


	5. THE TIMER

For the second time in one day, Jupiter awoke to the delicious smell of home cooked food. She groaned and stretched and wandered out into the kitchen.

The table was already set, and Caine was almost dancing around the tiny space as he finished plating what looked to be some sort of pasta dish.

“Caine, this smells amazing. I can’t believe you keep cooking for me, I mean I’ve hardly eaten anything all week that you didn’t bring me,” a little guilt wound through her tone.

Caine, proud as a peacock, simply placed a dish before her, presenting it like a waiter at a fancy restaurant.

Dinner was lovely. Delicious, warm, and homey. They chatted casually over mouthfuls of noodles, their banter easy and playful.

Messily slurping up her last noodle, Jupiter glanced once again at the clock. She’d probably checked it a thousand times today, but finally _finally_ it offered her a bit of hope. She only had an hour or so left before the potion would wear off, if it had ever worked to begin with.

She managed to convince Caine to let her wash the dishes, but only if he could rinse and dry. They bumped elbows and hips in the tight space, but neither of them minded.

With the last dish dry, Jupiter tugged Caine over to the couch and plopped him down unceremoniously. She curled up into his side, pushing herself under his arm until he had no choice but to hold her or leave.

Snuggled onto the hard planes of his chest, Jupiter could feel the hesitation in Caine’s body. His pulse was erratic, his stomach rose and fell with shallow breaths.

“Caine,” she whispered, even though they were alone. “Why don’t you believe that I have feelings for you?”

“Because of the potion—“

“No,” she cut him off, sitting up a little. “That’s not how it works, it doesn’t make you—“ her voice caught in her throat, her own resolve started to crumble under his gaze. “It just makes you attracted to someone,” she chose her words carefully.

Caine considered her. He was well trained in the art of detecting lies, but Jupiter threw off all his senses, overwhelming all of them.

“And you are… _attracted_ to me?” Caine’s voice was guarded, eyes stern. Jupiter’s words died on her tongue, so she nodded sharply. “So how can you say it’s not the potion then?” His stare burned into her, an edge of accusation.

“I think you want it to be the potion. Because if it isn’t, you’ll actually have to deal with me,” Jupiter angled to face Caine directly.

“Deal with you?” his face was so close, his breath tickled her cheeks.  
“Yes. You’ll have to decide if you want me too.”

“Jupiter…” Caine dropped his forehead to hers. “I do, I really do,” he gritted out, his jaw tense and throat tight.

Jupiter thrilled at the confession, easing her way onto Caine’s lap. She could feel his stomach rising and falling with quick, shallow breaths. “But?”

“…what if you don’t?” the words rumbled through him, she could feel them in his chest through her palm. “What if, in an hour, when your timer is up, this whole thing vanishes?” His tone was biting, and at first it felt to Jupiter like a knife. But as she let the words seep in, under the near-accusation was fear. Could he not see what he did to her?

She let herself edge further onto his lap until her hips slid to meet his. He didn’t move, except to set his hands on her thighs, anchoring himself. She traced her fingers up his chest, feeling the curve of his muscles, the beat of his heart under her palm. “That night,” she tried her best to imbue her words with all the delicious desire she’d felt, “I wanted you to kiss me.”

His eyebrows furrowed. She let her fingers smooth out the lines in his face. “The night you walked me to my car?” Realization dawned slowly over his features. “I wanted you.”

She felt and heard him suck in a breath, dragging his tongue over his bottom lip as he returned her heavy stare. And still he didn’t move.

Then, because she remembered how much he likes it when she challenges him, “You say you want me too? Well prove it.”

The growl that came out of Caine then was inhuman. He lunged up to capture her lips in a white-hot kiss. If she hadn’t been sitting atop Caine’s thighs, Jupiter would have lost her balance. As it was, two strong hands were holding her tightly to the body in front of her, keeping her steady but also pulling her, pulling her ever deeper into this kiss.

She let herself fall into it.

To Jupiter, the kiss felt like the storm on her namesake planet, it’s red-hot swirling fiery hurricanes. She imagined the way it whipped, pulled, swirled, and crashed, a thousand tiny jolts of electricity firing all at once.

And yet, even her imagination could not live up to the power of his kiss. She drowned in him, let him consume her, met his every nip and suck and groan with her own. Her bare thighs ground against the soft cotton of his sweatpants, wishing for skin, for traction, for more more more.

Caine, for all that it’s worth, was out of his mind. He’d wanted Jupiter since the first time she smiled at him, and every time she’d challenged him he couldn’t help but rise to meet her. This time, she called to that quiet ache in his chest, and blood and bone, he knew she was right. Even if the potion wore off in a while, he needed this, needed her. He’d never felt so alive and yet so completely reckless, and he’d jumped out of a moving aircraft over enemy territory. This was something else entirely.

When she couldn’t breathe anymore, Jupiter reached behind his head, threading her fingers through the short hairs at his neck. She tugged him, unwillingly, out of their kiss. For a moment his lips chased after hers, unrelenting.

Frozen under her control, Caine looked up into Jupiter’s eyes, his pupils blown wide and hands twitching at her sides. His pulse thrummed visibly in his neck, and Jupiter wanted nothing more than to reach out and bite it, but she had pushed him enough for the night and didn’t want to push her luck.

“Thank you, Caine,” she said as her breathing relaxed and his muscles slowly unclenched around her. She didn’t have to glance at the clock to know there was still a little time left, but she looked anyway to gauge just how much longer. They hadn’t talked about what she would do when that time was up, but Jupiter couldn’t bring herself to leave. “Five minutes left.”

Caine’s eyes fluttered closed and the blood drained from his face. He had let himself forget for a few minutes. But now his time was up. He didn’t want to see the look in her eyes when she realized just how much the potion had affected her judgement. He didn’t want to see that same disappointment and disgust he’d seen so many times before.

“Caine? Caine, look at me,” Jupiter ordered gently, tipping his chin up with her fingers. His eyes remained tightly closed.

“Jupiter, I can’t…” his pulse hammered and his voice strained.

“Caine,” Jupiter spoke softly, “do you trust me?”

“Yes.” His answer came without question, without hesitation, his hands fisting at her thighs.

“Then take this chance with me. Don’t wait that last five minutes to get your answer, just jump with me. I promise I’ll catch you,” her voice came out much more solid than she felt, her whole body felt like it was on fire, her pulse rocketing. How was this so much scarier than kissing him?

He kneaded her skin under tense fingers, eyes sewn shut. He was huffing from his nose and Jupiter could tell he was struggling to let go.

“Open your eyes!” she commanded. This time her order was firm. His eyes snapped open, and the catch in his breath was not lost on her.

Still his eyes roamed everywhere but hers, before finally settling somewhere above her head. She caught him by the chin and forced his head steady. “Why won’t you look at me?”

“I—I can’t watch it happen,” it came out hardly above a breath.

“Ok,” her fingers traced across his brown and down his eyelids until they were once again closed. His head seemed to settle in her palm. “You won’t have to. I’ll just tell you what’s happening to me.”

“What’s…what’s happening to you?”

“I think—or it feels like, and maybe this is completely ridiculous—”

 _Fuck_ , Caine thought, _this is it_. He braced himself for impact.

So did Jupiter.

The words exploded out of her mouth, “Caine, I think I’m falling in love with you.”

His eyes burst open, searching Jupiter’s face frantically for signs of deception. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t breathe.

He couldn’t stop himself anymore.

He captured her lips in a fierce kiss, hands searching everywhere for her skin. His fingers roamed up under his t shirt she was wearing, realizing instantly that all she had on under were her panties. He groaned into her mouth, and suddenly lifted her from the couch effortlessly, hitching her legs around his waist to keep her steady.

“Caine?” Jupiter was startled by the abrupt movement. “Where are we going?” she laughed as she tried to hold on while he bounded through the apartment to the bed and dropped her on top of the covers. She bounced a little, reaching up to pull him down with her. Jupiter giggled as Caine dove into her, nuzzling her neck and kissing her everywhere he could find exposed skin. He seemed frantic, and his desperate kisses left her a little breathless.

Jupiter’s fingers traced the outer curve of his ear while he sucked deeply at her collarbone. “Does this mean—“ her words were cut off by an involuntary moan, her back arching up to meet his body, “that you—“

“Yes,” he whispered against her skin. “Yes, Jupiter. Yes.”

A short distance or a million miles away a small timer went off, but it couldn’t be heard over the sounds of laughter and love.


	6. THE RESULTS

The next morning Caine once again escorted Jupiter to Kalique’s downtown office. This time, her assistant asked Caine to wait in the lobby, directing Jupiter into the adjacent room alone. Caine gritted his teeth. It felt wrong to let her go in without him.

Inside Kalique’s office, Jupiter was seated awkwardly on the settee, holding a small glass of whatever pretentious drink Kalique’s assistant had offered (which she absolutely would not be drinking).

“So,” Kalique chirped pleasantly, “how are you feeling today, Dr. Jones?”

“I’m feeling much better today, thank you.” Jupiter tried to keep her voice calm and professional.

“And Mr. Wise?”  
“What about him?” she couldn’t help the small twinge of defensiveness in her tone.

Kalique considered the girl before her. Skin flushed, eyes intense, fingers toying with the cuffs of what is clearly another of Mr. Wise’ shirts. She didn’t have the time to play the patient game she normally so adored, Balem would be here momentarily and then the girl’s fate would be sealed.

“Did you sleep with him?”

Jupiter gasped, mouth agape.

Kalique laughed airily.

“Don’t misunderstand me, Dr. Jones, I am not here to judge your…proclivities,” she hesitated, still hoping to use enough of her politic to talk an answer out of the girl. “Our goals are the same. I wish for your work to be as successful for others as I imagine it already has been for you. Now tell me, do you love Mr. Wise?”

Jupiter reemerged from Kalique’s office practically beaming, eyes wild. “Let’s go,” she grabbed Caine’s hand without a thought to their audience, and pulled him to the elevator bank. She didn’t have to pull that hard. He came along willingly, as, he suspected, he always would.

Caine looked down at their joined hands, marveling at how something so small could alter his life so completely.

Finally in the safety of his car, she told him everything. “Kalique believed the potion worked!” she squealed, the shock evident in her voice.

“But you told her that—“

“Yes!”

“And she still—“

“Uh huh!”

“But your job—“

“I quit!” It had been a rash decision, but she’d made a lot of rash decisions this week, and all of them turned out better than this horrible job. She didn’t wait for Caine to process, the rush of freedom made the words just pour out. “I told her that I had completed my assigned task, and that I would no longer be working for them. I was going to tell her that if she wouldn’t let me out of the rest of the contract, I’d release details about their business practices, but she said she was more than happy to release me now that they had a viable sample to test. She paid out the remaining two years as a bonus.”

Caine grinned a stupid, toothy grin.

She hadn’t quite worked out all the details, but none of that mattered at this exact moment. She had Caine, and she didn’t want or need anything else in the universe. Even though she had a six figure check burning a hole in her pocket. They could sort that out later. Together.

110 stories above them, Balem stared out the floor to ceiling windows behind Kalique’s desk.

“Don’t be unreasonable,” Kalique chided him. He’d sauntered in only moments after Jupiter had left. “The girl is no longer important. Let her go.”

“And the results of her study? Shall I discard those as well?” Balem rasped, furious at the thought of wasted resources, money down the drain.

“No, dear brother,” Kalique smiled sweetly, “I think the results were _very_ promising."


End file.
